So ’tis with beauty—such the opening grace
And dawn of glory in the youthful face;
Then are the charms unfolded to the sight,
Then all is loveliness and all delight;
The nuptial tie succeeds, the genial hour,
And, lo! the falling off of beauty’s flower;
So, through all nature is the progress made— 220
The bud, the bloom, the fruit—and then we fade.
Then sigh no more—we might as well retain
The year’s gay prime as bid that love remain: